yuvÄá¹ na naḥ sutau sÄká¹£Ät
pradhÄna-puruá¹£eÅ›varau
bhÅ«-bhÄra-ká¹£atra-ká¹£apaṇa
avatÄ«rṇau tathÄttha ha
yuvÄm - You two; na - not; naḥ - our; sutau - sons; sÄká¹£Ät - directly; pradhÄna-puruá¹£a - of nature and its creator (MahÄ-Viṣṇu); Ä«Å›varau - the supreme controllers; bhÅ« - of the earth; bhÄra - the burden; ká¹£atra - royalty; ká¹£apaṇe - for eradicating; avatÄ«rṇau - descended; tathÄ - so; Ättha - You have said; ha - indeed.
You are not our sons but the very Lords of both material nature and its creator [MahÄ-Viṣṇu]. As You Yourself have told us, You have descended to rid the earth of the rulers who are a heavy burden upon her.
According to ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ«, in this verse Vasudeva offers himself and his wife as excellent examples of those who are materially deluded. Although at the time of His birth in Kaá¹sa’s prison Lord Kṛṣṇa told Vasudeva and DevakÄ« that His mission was to rid the earth of unwanted ká¹£atriyas, still His two parents could not avoid thinking of Him as their helpless son who needed protection from King Kaá¹sa. In reality, of course, both Vasudeva and DevakÄ« were participating in the divine pastime of the Lord’s birth under the perfect direction of His internal energy; only out of transcendental humility does Vasudeva criticize himself in this way.
